Doctors warn 500 patients are dying each week because wards are understaffed
Striking doctors have warned 500 hospital patients are dying every week due to understaffed wards.
Junior doctors and consultants held their first joint walkout on Wednesday as routine care ground to a halt in England. The Tories refuse to negotiate an above-inflation deal for medics. And it emerged an extra £200million pledged by PM Rishi Sunak last week to boost the NHS during winter will be diverted to pay for strike staff cover.
Dr Arjan Singh, 27, a member of the BMA’s doctors’ committee and council, spoke on a picket line outside University College Hospital in Central London. He said: “Every week 500 people are dying unnecessarily because there aren’t enough doctors. That’s because of pay. We’re haemorrhaging doctors, we are 9,000 doctors short. We’re not asking for a king’s ransom.”
NHS staff on strike in London (AFP via Getty Images)Dr Singh was referring to a Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimate that between 300 and 500 people die each week due to a lack of medics. The BMA said doctors have seen real-terms pay cuts of up to a third under the Tories. Consultants want an above-inflation pay award, which was 11% in April.
The Government has implemented a 6% pay rise for consultants and 6% plus a lump sum of £1,250 for junior doctors. NHS leaders have spent around £1bn on staff agencies to cover strikes – nearly the total amount junior doctors say would have funded their pay demand.
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The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are preparing for winter earlier than ever before, and announced £200m in additional funding for the NHS to ensure patients continue to receive the highest quality care throughout its busiest period, with ongoing industrial action.”
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